We sussed out items that may or may not be useful in your life

Photos: Weekender/ Don Don Donki

A certain Japanese department store may just be quaking in its boots for the predicament of what’s to come – the opening of famed Don Don Donki at Orchard Central, sandwiching the pre-existing store with the newcomer’s two levels of retail space.

Slated to open on 1 December 2017, the Singapore’s franchise of the Japanese discount store was conceived when founder and chairman of Don Quijote Takao Yasuda was rightfully perturbed at how expensive Japanese products are in Singapore.

“The produce price in Singapore is very expensive,” declared the founder, who moved to Singapore since 2015 with plans of retiring. “What costs $1 in Japan is two to three times more here. I couldn’t forget that.”

Thanks be to this social justice warrior as the discount store is everything we can asked for – literally!

Don Don Donki currently offers a selection of estimated 30, 000 items that ranges from fresh produce of meat and vegetables to makeup and household products, plus a Hokkaido-themed area featuring specialised goods such as Tokachi Beef. The retail space also includes a takeaway concept, where shoppers can buy and immediately tuck into bento boxes, onigiri and gelato made from Hokkaido milk, and a mini bar serving potent cocktails.

Don Don Donki Bar

Head on up the store’s second floor and you’ll be greeted by both the rows and rows of essentials and the potential impulse buys. We’re talking about more snacks, apparels, plushies, perfumes and a pack of Hello Kitty toilet paper rolls.

Hokkaido Marche is also set to be opened by end-January to further bolster Don Don Donki’s pocket-friendly business model with equally affordable dishes at its night market dining concept.

But wait, there’s more!

A second Don Don Donki outlet is poised to setup in Tanjong Pagar’s 100am mall by June next year, followed by 10 more stores in the next four to five years. Thailand will soon see its very own branch in November 2018.

Here are 10 products you can get your hands on when the discount store opens this coming Friday (1 December):

1. The ‘World’s Best’ Apples, $2.90

“They’re rare, very rare,” claimed one of the sales staff when we fondled the curves of the enormous bright red apples. There are at least five kinds of apples at the discount store, such as Mutsu, Kurenaino Yame, Daikouei and Kinsei, with their sweetness, sourness and hardness proudly displayed on signs like singletons at the Shanghai marriage market.